


Ten Years is a Long Time

by KananOrgana



Category: Star Wars Rebels
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Ezra is a nosy blueberry, Ezra is clueless but who is surprised, F/M, Fluff, Hera's angry, Kanan Jarrus Needs a Hug, Kanan is cocky, Kanera ficlets, also meddling kids, and chopper is a rolling metal menace, established kanera, the bean has a threatening aura
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22308331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KananOrgana/pseuds/KananOrgana
Summary: Literally just a collection of Kanera ficlets because I miss them too much.
Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Comments: 4
Kudos: 75





	1. Gamble

Hera sighs and tries to rub her eyes free of the strain of the datapad. Kanan stirs behind her and she feels a kiss press to her shoulder. 

“You’re finally awake?” She can’t help but smile and absentmindedly send a hand back to stroke his cheek. 

“Mmhmm. Missed you too much.” The groggy Jedi winks with his signature smirk, which, not fair. Hera stifles a laugh and rolls her eyes. 

“You really never will stop with the lines, will you?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, sweetheart.” He grins, kissing her palm...and up her arm...

“Not this time, lady killer. You have to go train Ezra.”

“Come on,” He groans. “It’ll take five minutes!”

“Not helping your case.” Hera chuckles. 

“Or...you know, not. Hera, I was gone for two weeks!”

Hera considers it for a moment. She has been painfully aware of his absence. She shrugs at herself before quickly turning and throwing a leg over so she could sit comfortably on Kanan’s hips. His grin returns and he sets his hands comfortably on the tops of her thighs. 

“Thought we weren’t doing this,”

“I’m allowed to change my mind.”

“Well, yeah, of course, but you never change your mind.” Kanan realizes his mistake too late and his eyes widen. Hera cocks an eyebrow. 

“Yeah? You’ve just snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory. Congrats.” She grins devilishly and, very deliberately, slowly slides off his lap, grabs her datapad, and makes her way to the galley. Kanan exhales loudly and rolls off the bunk. He would find a way to muck it up. But he also knew Hera, and he knew her resolve in that department was even worse than his. He shakes his head and laughs to himself. Ten creds say she won’t last until the sleep cycle. 

He saunters his way into the galley and he can already hear Ezra bickering with Chopper somewhere. He pretends to focus on the commotion and he doesn’t miss the look Hera shot his way. 

...Make that twenty creds.


	2. The Anniversary

“Which is stupid! If they’d followed my kriffing plan...” Hera stops herself. No. That isn’t going to solve anything. She knows that, she does, but if Sato had taken her seriously they wouldn’t have lost four more fighters. She inhales slowly then lets it out. “You know what, that’s not on me, so—“

“You still care, so don’t try convincing yourself you don’t.” Kanan says gently. She wants to glare at him. Gods how she wants to glare at him...but he’s right. 

“Don’t read my mind.” She snaps. 

“I don’t need to. And even if I did need to, I wouldn’t. You know that.” His tone is still the same and she knows he’s right. Again. Which only pisses her off more. But still. 

“I’m sorry, I’m just stressed. You of all people know how I get when I’m not listened to.” She says softly. Kanan laughs. 

“Yeah, I really do, don’t I?” Now it’s Hera’s turn to laugh. But then Kanan’s eyes zero in on the door and he freezes. 

“Kan—“

“Shh.” Not taking his eyes away from the door, Kanan slides off the bunk and reaches for his lightsaber. It effortlessly flies to his hand. 

“Kanan, what are you—“ This time he puts a finger up to his mouth. He approaches the door slowly and puts his ear up to it. Hera starts making her way to the edge of the bunk but Kanan lifts a closed fist. Hold? Why the kriff is he telling her to hold?

He goes into his ready position, hand hovering over the control panel—then collapses. And he hits the floor hard. 

“Kanan!” Now she’s tumbling off the bunk, trying to make her way toward him. She can hear multiple sets of feet running toward her quarters but she doesn’t care. “Kanan!” She repeats, smacking his cheek a few times—no response. She moves her hand to his neck to feel for a pulse. It’s definitely there. “EVERYONE GET IN HERE! NOW!”

The door immediately slides open. 

“What’s going...what happened to Kanan?” It’s Ezra. He instantly drops down to inspect his master. 

“I-I don’t know. One minute things were fine, we were just laying down and talking, and out of nowhere he goes into this almost trance and makes for the door—“

“With his lightsaber?” So Sabine’s here. 

“Yes.” Hera wants to roll her eyes because, well, obviously, but it’s Sabine. So she doesn’t. “Then—then he just collapsed out of nowhere.”

“Ezra, move.” Sabine says, kneeling down. Ezra’s learned a lot since he came aboard—he immediately moves aside. Sabine checks for Kanan’s pulse, then leans down to check his breathing. Hera takes a moment to thank whatever gods or goddesses there are that Sabine has extensive first aid training at the Academy. Heavens knew she was too stressed to do any good. 

“Well, what’s wrong with him?” Ezra asks. Sabine shoots him a look. 

“I don’t know. Physically he seems fine.” She gives Hera a look and Hera nods in approval. “Sorry, Kanan...” She winds up and smacks the Jedi across the face. Hard. 

“GREY, STYLES, NO!” 

Shit. Hera should’ve known. She hones in on him. 

“Love, what just happened?” More for the sake of the kids than her own. 

“I was...I...” he looks at the three concerned faces surrounding him. “I don’t know. I just...” he shakes his head. “Ezra, Sabine, it’s nothing. Long story. I’m okay. Go back to bed.”

“Wait, what?” Ezra looks almost disgusted—no...hurt?

“Kid, I’m fine. I promise. Nightmare. Sort of.” Kanan says, forcing a smile. 

“Kanan, are you sure?” Sabine asks, not trying to hide her concern. 

“Promise. Now get back to bed, both of you.” The kids nod and hesitantly do as they’re told. Kanan reaches up and locks the door after it slides shut. 

“Kanan, I didn’t realize what day it was, I’m—“

“Hera. It’s okay. It isn’t your fault.” But it was. She always made sure to remember the anniversary but for some reason it’d totally slipped her mind. A brief pause, then, “You know, now that I think about it, I’m kind of glad Stance wasn’t around for that. That would’ve made things much harder.” Right, Stance. He was the younger clone Kanan had been close with...

She never knew what to say when he talked about Order 66. How could she? It was the most traumatic day of Kanan’s life and Hera couldn’t even imagine how terrifying it had to have been to watch the clones betray the Jedi...much less watch them kill the closest thing Kanan had to family...

“Not that I wasn’t close to Grey and Styles. I was. But Stance saved my life. He was going through the same rookie shit they were putting me through. I related to him. It’s better that he didn’t have to see that.” He laughs darkly. Hera reaches out to him and pulls him back to the bunk. “I’m sorry.”

“Kanan, you have nothing to apologize for.”

“I worried you. And Sabine. And Ezra. And if Zeb didn’t sleep like the dead, I would’ve worried him, too.” 

“That’s not your fault.” Hera says softly. Kanan shrugs. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Kanan says. Hera can feel him start to shake. This was the part she was used to. This she could work with. 

“Shh, love. It’s okay. It’s okay.” She pulls him against her chest and runs her fingers through his hair over and over and over. She doesn’t know how many times she says it, but she stops as soon as she feels him relax and finally fall asleep, but still clinging to her as if his life depended on it. “It’s okay, love...”


	3. The Cantina Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hera is 100% without a doubt the jealous type

Hera sighed as she walked into the dingy cantina. Meeting up with contacts was far from her favorite type of work--they were usually less-than-desirable individuals that had been drinking, which often led to them getting handsy. And that’s why Kanan insisted he tag along. He knew Hera could take care of herself and that she was very, very good at it. He caught onto that fairly quickly. But that didn’t mean he didn’t get nervous when the time came for her to meet up with them. At first, Hera had been adamantly against it, but after a while realized that Kanan didn’t want to come with her so he could protect her; no, he just wanted to keep an eye on her...and maybe enjoy the show when particularly drunk patrons thought they stood a chance against her.

Hera sat at a table and waited. Ten, twenty, then thirty minutes pass with no sign of the contact. Typical. She rolled her eyes and stood, making her way to the bar to find Kanan. He was hunched over a drink, gaze down on the bar. But he wasn’t alone. A relatively young Pantoran woman was sitting next to him, leaning in entirely too close, with a hand on his bicep. No. Hell no. From what Hera could see, Kanan was paying her no mind aside from shaking his head no every time she opened her mouth.

No is right. Hera frowned and quickly made her way to the bar, barely suppressing a growl.

“Come on, handsome, Have some fun tonight,” the woman said with what Hera could only assume was meant to be a flirty smile, though it looked more like she was a gassy infant. She pushed the woman’s hand off Kanan’s arm and snaked an arm over his shoulders.

“Don’t worry, he will.” She used her free hand to turn Kanan’s face toward her own, then rushed forward to kiss him. She felt Kanan freeze up for a moment before he melted into her.

“Kriffing Twi’leks…” the stranger grumbled. Hera heard her barstool scrape against the floor but she didn’t pull away. Kanan did.

“Hera…”

“Shut up.” She went in for another kiss and felt Kanan grin against her.

“You hate PDA.”

“I also hate seeing random girls hitting on and hanging off of my boyfriend.” She grumbled.

“Boyfriend, huh?” He tried holding back his grin but his lit-up eyes gave him away.

“Yes. And I can change that very, very easily. Remember that.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one but I wanted to have at least SOMETHING posted before the Super Bowl.
> 
> In which space Chef Boyardee is Hera's idea of fine dining

“I really don’t see how you can eat that garbage.” Kanan says, crinkling his nose in disgust as Hera scrapes what he thinks may be some sort of noodle derivative out of a can.

“Because it’s good.” Hera replies with an eye roll.

“No, it’s mass-produced crap that’s been sitting in a tin can for months. It’s halfway gelatinous!”

Hera shrugs, about to take a bite. Kanan shudders.

“If you eat that I am not kissing you tonight.”

“Suit yourself, Jarrus.” Hera grins and shovels a spoonful into her mouth without breaking eye contact. Kanan tracks the motion and barely suppresses a gag.

“You know I could make a version of that fodder that would actually taste good and not wreck your digestive tract, right?” He asks, tossing a shark filet into a pan. He lets his hand hover over the rest for a moment, then grabs another for good measure. He does the same with an extra handful of shredded potatoes. He had no doubt that Hera would end up eating a good portion of whatever he made; she always did.

By the time his lunch finishes cooking, Hera's finished her own. He keeps his eyes on his own plate but Hera’s are practically boring holes into him. He let out a dramatic sigh and motioned for her to go ahead. She squeals in delight and snatches a filet and some potatoes in one swift motion. 

Kanan shakes his head and chuckles softly, suddenly forgetting about his earlier “no kiss” promise.


	5. Modifications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hera's blaster goes missing and there's only one suspect

“Kanan, have you seen my blaster? I could’ve sworn I left it right here…” Hera frowned and dug around a different crate in her quarters. Kanan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Uh, yeah, Sabine has it. She’s in the common room.”

“Wonderful.” Hera closed her eyes and let out a breath before making her way to Sabine with Kanan in tow.

“Hey, Kanan, perfect timing. Come here for a second!” Sabine grinned--Kanan knew that grin and he hated it. That grin always ended in him getting hurt. He still found himself walking toward the Mandalorian, though.

“What’s up Sabine?” Kanan asked, taking a few steps forward.

“Can you help me really quick?”

“Sure.”

“Stand there.” She pointed to a small line drawn on the floor just inside the common room. Kanan knit his brows together but stood on the line all the same. Sabine grinned, quickly pulled up Hera’s blaster and aimed. She fired as Kanan realized what she was doing. A quick blue flash and his body locked up and he flew back a good four meters farther than he normally would’ve. He hit the floor with a loud thump.

“See? Now it really packs a punch!”


	6. Compromises

“Will you marry me, Hera?” Kanan was grinning and holding out a beautiful ring. Hera felt her stomach twist up into knots and she wished she could teleport off Rion. 

“No.” She said quietly. Kanan’s arms fell to his sides. He was pretty sure he dropped the ring. “But Kanan, I need you to hear me out.”

He pursed his lips and nodded. 

“The Rebellion is still in its infancy. We have to give it everything we’ve got to turn it into a force that could destroy the Empire. That’s all that matters right now. When the Empire is gone, absolutely. I would not hesitate. But now just isn’t the time.” Kanan’s eyes were stuck on the ground. He wasn’t looking at Hera and she hated it. His eyes were far more expressive than he realized and as long as she could see them, she could read him and he wasn’t letting her. “If the Empire found out, they would destroy one of us to get to the other. I will not let that happen.”

Kanan nodded again and swiped the ring up and pushed himself up off his knee in silence. 

“I love you, Kanan. I just need you to understand that.” Hera pleaded. Kanan nodded exaggeratedly and shifted his weight to his left leg.

“It’s crystal clear, Captain. No need for overkill.” He said in a dull tone, making his way up the ramp and into the Ghost. Hera watched him go and felt a tug at her heart. She’d known he’d been wanting to propose for a while. She never dreamed he’d actually do it. She got the sinking feeling he didn’t believe her so she marched up the ramp after him. 

“Kanan?” She asked quietly.

“Yes, Captain?” The same dull voice.

Hera hated when he called her Captain when he was upset. He never really did succeed in shutting her out, but the attempts still hurt. Hera sighed and pulled him onto a supply crate with her.

“I do want that life with you, Kanan, I swear. More than anything. But we have to finish what we started if we want it to be worth it. I won’t let them take you away from me.” Hera said softly. She held one of Kanan’s hands between her own and watched him intently. His face softened and he sighed.

“I love you, too.” He offered a small smile, but his distress was more prominent. Hera frowned and found herself deep in thought.

“On Ryloth, we have very private wedding ceremonies,” she said, “what if we went through with one of those but didn’t sign datawork that the Empire could find?” She did want to marry him and she needed him to realize that. If a ceremony was all it took, she could reconcile with herself.

“Like a de facto marriage?”

“Yes, exactly! See, on Ryloth, all it takes to be married is for a couple to go out in front of this one tree that’s said to be the oldest on Ryloth. All you do is express the intent to marry your partner, and it’s done.”

“And you’d be willing to do that?” Kanan quirked a brow and tried hiding his smile. The tension in Hera started to melt away.

“Yes. But in Twi’leki culture, marriage is forever. There’s no going back and there are no do overs. It binds the spirits until the end of time.”

“Hera,” Kanan chuckled, “when we first met, I decided that I would follow you anywhere. It’s been four years and that feeling has only gotten stronger. I want you and I want you forever. Let’s do it.”

Hera grinned and made her way into the cockpit to set course for Ryloth. She paused before taking the Ghost into hyperspace.

“There’s another thing. The married couple goes on to get a tattoo on the inside of their left knees to signify the permanence of the union. They still use rings, but given our situation, I--”

“Why the knee?” Kanan asked. Hera laughed, and it still felt like Kanan was experiencing music for the first time; her laugh always did that to him. He grinned and put his hands behind his head. Hera smiled and turned back to the console. 

“It signifies being your partner’s support.”

Kanan considered it for a moment, then he rubbed his goatee and nodded. “I’ve always wanted a tattoo.” He shrugged.

“Then let’s get going.”


	7. Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kanan gets curious about his new captain's preferred means of revenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place a few weeks post- A New Dawn

“Hera, have you ever scraped the ship of someone you were with that screwed you over?” Kanan asked after a couple hours’ worth of silence. Hera smirked but didn’t respond. “Oh, so that’s a yes, I take it.”

“Well, technically, I didn’t scrape it.” She replied thoughtfully. Kanan was curious.

“So what’d you do?”

“Oh, just removed the weapons array and clipped the fuel line. Nothing major.”

“That’s...actually pretty hardcore. What’d he do?” Kanan grinned.

“What makes you think it was a he?” Hera raised an eyebrow and glanced in Kanan’s direction without making full eye contact.

“Just a feeling.”

“Sorry, Jarrus. You have to be level four to unlock that story.” Hera sighed and pressed a few buttons.

“Yeah? What level am I now?”

“Negative two.” Hera said plainly.

“How do I get to four?”

“Now you’re a negative three. Catch my drift?” She smirked.

“Understood, Captain.” Kanan grinned and leaned back. Minutes passed, then he reached for the ship’s stereo.

“Touch that and you’ll be down to negative four and you’ll lose a finger.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Come on, Kanan, I know you can do better than that!” Hera laughed, wiping the sweat off her brow. She had a terribly mischievous grin dancing on her face and Kanan knew she was only smiling to taunt him. That was the only time she ever smiled while they sparred. Hera usually beat him; he was good with a saber, but she was an expert at hand-to-hand and she refused to tell him who trained her. Kanan, on the other hand, was absolutely drenched in sweat and his hair had fallen out of his tie long ago. The crew had taken to watching them any time they went into the cargo bay, but that was Ezra’s first experience watching them. 

But unbeknownst to Kanan and Hera, Zeb, Sabine, and Ezra placed bets on the match. Before Ezra joined the crew there was no point. Everyone but Kanan seemed to realize Hera would win--Kanan was a hopeful man. Zeb and Sabine, of course, chose Hera. Ezra had picked Kanan, and Sabine had counted on it.

Hera took Kanan down hard with a leg swipe to knock him off his feet. He cursed under his breath and earned a light shin kick from Hera before she helped him up.

“One more time then we get food.” Kanan said, breathing hard.

“Tired already, love? That’s a shame.” Hera raised her arms but didn’t plan on using them. She hadn’t taken him down with her legs wrapped around his head. She gave a false strike to get Kanan to bend down a bit--the man was a mountain--and took the opportunity to throw one leg over his shoulder, then used her weight to bring him down. He cursed again and Hera flicked his nose.

“Kanan, you’d think you’d be used to Hera’s legs around your—“

“SABINE!” Hera warned. Kanan’s cheeks were fully flushed. He grumbled something about “different concepts” as he climbed the ladder to the cockpit. Hera stifled back a laugh, not only at Sabine’s comment, but also at Kanan’s reaction. He only needed a few minutes to cool off and Hera knew he only sparred with her in the first place so that it would benefit her. He knew he’d never beat her, and Hera wasn’t entirely sure he even wanted to.

She climbed the ladder to go make Kanan some caf, but as she passed the platform over the bay, she saw Ezra handing over every one of his credits to Sabine and Zeb while Chopper laughed in the hallway.

“Hey! No betting on my ship!” She folded her arms across her chest.

“C’mon, Hera, at least now he knows not to underestimate you!” Sabine whined.

“...You two are buying dinner for everyone tonight.” She finally said, eyeing Sabine and Zeb. 

“Honestly, that’s worth it.” Zeb laughed.


	9. Sick Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kanan catches an illness...and passes it onto Hera. Hera's more stubborn when she's sick than she usually is.

“I hab been poisoned!” Kanan moaned, gripping his stomach and rolling around Hera’s bunk. One rough sneeze shook his entire body and Hera rolled her eyes fondly and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead.

“Pretty sure that constitutes as a human fever, coupled with your sneeze and stomach issues, I’d say it’s just the illness that was going around when we were in that port.” She sighed, “Which is why I told you to wear that mask when we were on Garel, but you know so much better than me, oh, and that particular plague doesn’t affect humans! Roll back over here so I can give you the medicine.”

“You can’ dake care ob be. I’ll get you sick, too.” Kanan struggled through his congestion. Hera smiled at his concern, but it was useless, anyway. She placed a cool rag on his forehead and smoothed it down two more times than was necessary.

“Love, I finished off your jogan juice this morning and you basically slept on top of me last night. I would be getting sick either way, but I don’t get sick, so I’m fine. I’m taking care of you whether you like it or not. Here,” Hera held out a cup of water, “Drink this. All of it.”

Kanan groaned but did what Hera told him to. He’d only been on the Ghost for a year, but disobeying Hera’s wishes never ended well for him. He handed her the empty cup and she smiled.

“Thank you, dear. Are you hungry?”

Kanan shook his head no. He knew that if he ate, it wouldn’t stay down long. He settled into the bunk and fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up, Hera wasn’t in the cabin, but Kanan could hear a soft cough coming from somewhere in the ship. Kanan was feeling a bit better, so he slipped off Hera’s bunk and followed the sound of the cough. One more cough as he entered the cockpit of the Ghost. 

“Are you sure you’re not sick, Hera?” Kanan asked, taking a peek at his captain’s face but careful not to give off a sense of pity or worry. That would immediately shut his inquiry down. 

“No, I am not sick. I never get sick. You know that. Now get over here and help me with the hyperdrive.” 

Right...Kanan nodded and did as he was told and moments later, there was a series of sneezes. Three, to be exact. Hera always sneezed in threes. And the last sneeze was always deadly. While Kanan was feeling better, he was still a bit off, so he failed to dodge the little dart of snot that went his way. Hera’s eyes widened, though Kanan figured that had more to do with her realizing that yes, she was sick than it did with her getting anything on him. But he knew better than to presume to know her entirely too well, so he shrugged. 

“Hera, I’ve had your blood, spit, pretty sure there’s been vomit at some point, and not to mention your--”

“Finish that sentence and I will stun you...but I may forget to set it to stun.” She tried sounding intimidating, but with her growing congestion, she just sounded funny. Kanan knew better than to outright laugh, though.

“Aye, aye, Captain. Let’s get you to bed. The hyperdrive isn’t going anywhere and neither are we. You need some rest.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m sick.”

Kanan chuckled and shook his head as he followed Hera into her quarters.

“Whatever you say, Cap, whatever you say.”


	10. Chef Kanan

Kanan put the finishing touches on Hera’s bantha burger before carefully topping it with the bun. He did the same to his, but he didn’t care as much about being sloppy with it. He was always more careful with Hera’s plates; presentation mattered when it came to serving her. He set it in front of Hera with a flourish and dropped lazily into the seat across from her. Hera grinned before taking a bite and when she did her eyes widened.

“Holy hells, Kanan,  _ why  _ did you wait so long to make these?!” Hera asked, taking another big bite. 

“Because I only make these babies for the gravball championship, and since we’re on Lothal for it this year, I figured now was as good a time as any. I’ve tinkered with this recipe since I started working in bars, so it’s as big a secret to me as Fulcrum is to you. It’s a special recipe and I’ve gotta keep them special.” Kanan shrugged. 

“Yeah, no, that’s changing. These need to be a regular thing.” Hera very uncharacteristically said through a bite of food, tapping her burger with a slender ungloved finger.

Kanan laughed. “So I take it you like it?” He tried to prevent a big grin from spreading across his face but failed. Making Hera happy had been his favorite thing to do since he joined her on the Ghost a few months prior. 

“Yes, so if you plan on only making them once a year we are going to have some words.”

“Fighting words? With  _ you _ , Captain? Unthinkable!”

Hera rolled her eyes and kicked him from under the table. Kanan chuckled again and went back to his food. Kanan thought about how joining Hera was the best move he’d made in years, if not ever, and not for the first time. 


End file.
